Dave Dombrowski’s biggest fear in his current managerial search is that he’ll overlook someone.

In an effort to be thorough, you can rest assured that the Detroit Tigers’ president and general manager will look under every rock, and pick every brain he can to assemble a complete list of possible replacements for Jim Leyland.

But he can’t talk to everyone.

“You can only interview so many people. One of the biggest challenges — and I’ve talked to Jim about this, and I’ve talked to Tony La Russa about this — one of the things that always concerns me about this process is, you always ask as many questions as you possibly can, you get as many names as you possibly can. You get recommendations from people you can depend upon,” Dombrowski said at Monday’s news conference.

“(The concern is) that there’s somebody out there that’s going to be really good, and you don’t even interview them. That’s always a concern of mine. That’s the goal, to make sure you get the right people in there, the right person in there. So you really, I don’t think we’ll interview 20, but you’re also going to interview a large enough number so you can get a good enough comparison, and pulse of it.”

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Dombrowski always operates with his cards close to the vest, seeing no benefit in leaking information out, or handing out hints.

So there’s no real way to tell who might or might not be on his short list of candidates.

But that hasn’t stopped anyone from speculating.

From those few internal candidates, to those with ties to the Tigers, to the hottest names up and coming through the ranks, to the grizzled veterans who want one more crack, a ton of candidates have already been discussed.

Here is a quick look at many of the names being talked about:

Tigers connections:

Lloyd McClendon — The man who succeeded both Lamont and Leyland with the Pirates, has been a coach with the Tigers since Leyland took over in 2006, handling first bullpen and later hitting duties. He was interviewed for the Seattle job in 2010, and for the Miami job in 2012, but goth neither. He might represent the best bet among the internal candidates, considering he’s already got experience, represents continuity, and is only 54. He told MLB.com’s Jason Beck, “Oh, I think you’d be a fool not to be (interested)” in the gig. INTERESTED? YES

Kirk Gibson — The current Diamondbacks manager, and former Tigers coach and player, is still under contract. Arizona has said he’s going to stay that way, and Gibson said he has no interest in the Tigers job. INTERESTED? NO

Gene Lamont — The former skipper with the Chicago White Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates, and most recently Leyland’s right-hand man with the Tigers, has said he’s interested in the job, but is not sure he’ll get a chance at it. He was a finalist for the Red Sox job that went to Bobby Valentine two seasons ago. INTERESTED? YES

Tom Brookens — A former Tigers player, Brookens has never managed at the big-league level, he was a manager at three different levels in the Tigers system — Class A Oneonta (2005-’06), Class A West Michigan (2007), and Double-A Erie (2008) — and had, at times, been considered the heir apparent to Leyland.

Larry Parrish — The one-time Tigers manager was placed back in charge of the Toledo Mud Hens at the end of the regular season, after the organization parted ways with Mud Hens manager Phil Nevin. Parrish has worked at every level of the Tigers organization, and is well respected.

New school

Brad Ausmus — A former Tigers catcher and an 18-year big-leaguer, Ausmus is widely considered one of the favorites for the Tigers managerial position, despite no big league managerial experience. He did, however, manage Israel’s World Baseball Classic team in the run up to this spring’s competition. The Dartmouth graduate is currently a special assistant to baseball operations in the San Diego Padres organization, and has already interviewed for the vacant Washington Nationals managerial position.

Torey Lovullo — Anointed as the next best thing by Sparky Anderson, and given a starting role in 1989, Lovullo’s playing career never matched that initial hype. According to Lovullo, Anderson said at the time, “This guy is as good a natural hitter as I’ve ever seen. If he could run, he’d be a million-dollar player. I’ll die before he comes out of the lineup.”

After bouncing around the big leagues for eight seasons as a player, he’s been coaching at all levels of baseball since then. He’s never managed at the big-league level, though.

Lovullo interviewed for the Dodgers’ managerial opening in 2006, the Pittsburgh job in 2007, and the Red Sox job before his boss, John Farrell, got it. The Cubs are also reportedly keen on talking with him, once the World Series is over.

Tim Wallach — If you want to go by connections to the decision-makers in the Tigers organization, Wallach has those, as a player for the Montreal Expos while Dombrowski was GM there. He’s also got a solid coaching resume, with minor-league managerial experience, as well as third-base and hitting coach experience at the big-league level. He’s currently the third-base coach for the Dodgers. He interviewed for the Boston Red Sox job last offseason.

Checking the tread on the tires:

Charlie Manuel — Let go in August by the Philadelphia Phillies, Charlie Manuel has expressed his interest in the Detroit Tigers’ managerial opening in an interview on Detroit Sports 105.1-FM. But he’s already as old as Leyland will be next year, and has had a number of health issues during his dozen seasons as an MLB manager. INTERESTED? YES

Eric Wedge — The former AL Manager of the Year in Cleveland turned down a chance to stay on as the manager in Seattle after three seasons, citing a difference of opinion with upper management on the course of the franchise’s rebuilding project. He’d certainly love a chance to manage a winner, and said as much to the Detroit Free Press‘ John Lowe this week. The 45-year-old Wedge has had some health issues, suffering a stroke this past season, but has said he feels better than ever, now that the issue has been dealt with. INTERESTED? YES

Dusty Baker — The 64-year-old Baker was ousted by the Reds after six seasons, and another postseason disappointment, and he’d love to jump right back on the horse, already saying “he’d be flattered” to manage the Tigers. In his 20 seasons of managing, he’s had to deal with some of the game’s biggest egos, so he’d have no problem dealing with the Tigers’ star-studded bunch. But Baker’s also had a reputation for using pitchers hard, and that would be a big contrast from Leyland, who protected the Tigers’ heavy investment in arms. INTERESTED? YES

Manny Acta — One of the few recycled managers who could be considered “new school,” Acta has had big-league managerial experience, spending three years each with the Washington Nationals and Cleveland Indians. A current ESPN analyst, he has not committed to whether or not he’s interested in the Tigers job, telling the Detroit News’ Tony Paul he “want(s) to respect their process.” While the bilingual Acta would be perfect for a team made up the way the Tigers’ is, he has had trouble in player management before. Part of the reason for his dismissal from the Indians job was that it was felt he’d lost the clubhouse. Terry Francona was able to turn the team around quickly in one season after replacing Acta.

Tony Pena — The former Kansas City Royals manager (2002-’05) has been Joe Girardi’s bench coach with the New York Yankees since 2009. He was American League manager of the year in 2003, leading KC to its first winning record in nearly a decade. Pena interviewed twice for vacancies with the Red Sox in recent years, after the firing of Terry Francona, and the subsequent firing of Bobby Valentine, who beat Pena — and Lamont — out a year earlier.

If skeletons in the personal closet have the potential to close down a candidacy, though, Pena’s likely to be the first one scribbled off the list, thanks to a messy affair in his time in KC.

Tony La Russa — The former manager of the Chicago White Sox, Oakland A’s and St. Louis Cardinals, Tony La Russa is retired, and not a candidate to replace his good friend Jim Leyland as manager of the Tigers. Although he has had input on the managerial search, Dombrowski said La Russa has no interest in managing again. INTERESTED: NO

Timing could’ve been better

Ron Gardenhire — Leyland has always considered Gardenhire one of the best managers in baseball, and he’d have been a perfect fit to take over in Detroit, if the two sides in Minnesota had agreed to let Gardenhire’s contract expire there. But the Twins extended his contract for two seasons, effectively taking him off the market before he ever reached it. UNAVAILABLE

Terry Francona — The former Red Sox boss worked his magic in Cleveland this season, after a year in television. Had he waited another season, it would’ve made Dombrowski’s decision a no-brainer. UNAVAILABLE

“Last year, I thought there was an obvious name out there that was a real blue-chip candidate to manage a good club, and that was Terry Francona,” Dombrowski said at Monday’s news conference. “I don’t have a name like that out there this year, so it’s going to take a lot of thorough research and hopefully we’ll make the right decision.”

Don Mattingly — “Donnie Baseball” led the Los Angeles Dodgers to the National League Championship Series, but looked like he might very well be on his way out after tension between he and the organization arose over his lame-duck status. Monday’s end-of-season press conference was beyond awkward. Then, his bench coach, Trey Hillman, was fired Tuesday.

On Wednesday, though, Mattingly’s agent told various outlets that his client planned to honor the final year of his contract in 2014, effectively ensuring he would not reach the market. UNAVAILABLE

Outside the box:

Trey Hillman — The former Kansas City Royals manager (2008-’10) was the bench coach for Los Angeles Dodgers manager Don Mattingly for the last three years. He was fired on Tuesday.

Matt Williams — While the Tigers might not be able to pry one of their own off the coaching staff in Arizona, Williams could be someone on the move somewhere, at least. He’s already interviewed for the managerial job in Washington, and has a resume that includes time as the Diamondbacks’ first- and third-base coach.

Matthew B. Mowery covers the Tigers for Digital First Media. Read his “Out of Left Field” blog at opoutofleftfield.blogspot.com.